Figured out how to make google voice never expire (2024)

The issue is that my wife my forget to text from google voice once every 9 months, she may not notice associated email and loose access to 2FA accounts that require such number. So I really wanted to make a permanent VOIP number but I did not want to pay a monthly fee for Skype. It seems that for google there is actually a way of doing so.
I found this post on google search:

It works like this:
Users can claim one free Google Voice number. That Google Voice number is yours to use, as long as you make outbound calls or send outbound text messages at least once in a six-month period. No outbound activity for more than six months is interpreted as your abandonment of the number, so it is reclaimed for use by someone else. Inbound activity doesn't count, since a dead person can still receive calls and texts. So: simply use the number, and you do not have to pay anything to keep using it. The concept of "permanent" only applies to a free number on a configuration that also has a ported-in or changed number.
You can pay $20 to port in a mobile phone number. Ported-in numbers are considered "permanent", meaning Google will not reclaim the numbers, since they weren't Google's numbers to begin with, and you have paid a fee to port in the number. Similarly, you can pay $10 to change a number, and that new GV number will automatically be permanent.
Google requires that you first claim a free GV number before you can port in a number. If you do nothing after a successful port, the original, free GV number will be reclaimed after 90 days, to give you time to update your contacts that your number has changed. If you want to keep that original/free GV number, in addition to your ported-in number, you can pay a second $20 fee. This fee makes the original number permanent, too. This is entirely optional.
Regardless of these procedures, your Google Voice service, and any attached phone numbers, can be suspended without recourse at any time, if you violate Google Voice's Terms of Use or Acceptable Use Policy.

https://support.google.com/voice/thread ... id=9844021

Unfortunately the guy did not go into details how to pay $20 to port number and or $10 to change. But this is quite easy:
1. https://voice.google.com
2. settings ---> account ---> click transfer on your current phone number
This presented me with option to select new phone number for which you pay $10, old number will get deleted after 3 months but they gave me an option of keeping that number after paying $20. I did both. For some odd reasons now I can't repeat the same process and get a 3rd google voice number.

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:16 amWhat is the advantage of having a google voice number instead of a regular mobile number through AT&T, Verizon, or T Mobile?

Not OP. But I have been using it for 14 yrs. I can make/receive phone calls and text from anywhere. I rarely use actual phone these days. It's not for everyone, though.

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:16 amWhat is the advantage of having a google voice number instead of a regular mobile number through AT&T, Verizon, or T Mobile?

The biggest advantage is security. I can secure my google voice number with Yubikey. I can't do the same with AT&T.

Blue456 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:10 am

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:16 amWhat is the advantage of having a google voice number instead of a regular mobile number through AT&T, Verizon, or T Mobile?

The biggest advantage is security. I can secure my google voice number with Yubikey. I can't do the same with AT&T.

Helps for a lot of things but not all; I tried to get into my IRS account and they needed a cell number complete and ID verification. Explicitly excludes GV; and unfortunately, it wouldn't even take my cell number because somehow it determined that the number was on my wife's Verizon account.

Yeah I don't understand the GV fanbase to be honest. We know some 2FA issues exist for VOIP providers (which GV is). International usage is also questionable.

I guess the cost is cheap, but I just switched to Ting and my bill is around $15/mo, I can live with that.

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:15 am

Blue456 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:10 am

UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:16 amWhat is the advantage of having a google voice number instead of a regular mobile number through AT&T, Verizon, or T Mobile?

The biggest advantage is security. I can secure my google voice number with Yubikey. I can't do the same with AT&T.

See Also

Add another Google Voice number to your accountRecover your Google voice number: Ultimate GuideHow to Delete a Google Voice Account by Erasing Your NumberReclaim your Voice number - Google Voice Help

Helps for a lot of things but not all; I tried to get into my IRS account and they needed a cell number complete and ID verification. Explicitly excludes GV; and unfortunately, it wouldn't even take my cell number because somehow it determined that the number was on my wife's Verizon account.

Yup. Some places will want actual non VOIP phone number and that's one of the reasons I would not get rid of AT&T assigned number. But so far I was able to use Google Voice on Apple, Microsoft, Vanguard and TSP without any issues. Which brings me security that AT&T does not provide.

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:19 amYeah I don't understand the GV fanbase to be honest. We know some 2FA issues exist for VOIP providers (which GV is). International usage is also questionable.

I guess the cost is cheap, but I just switched to Ting and my bill is around $15/mo, I can live with that.

I love GV, not for any sort of security or 2FA capability. It's allowed me to keep the same phone number despite going through a dozen (maybe more) phone carriers over the past decade. I don't need to go through the hassle of "porting" my old number to a new phone/company, I just change my GV # to forward to whatever number my new carrier assigns.
I can have my GV number set to go straight to voicemail, and I receive an email text version of any messages left that's easier to glance at and delete then having to listen to whatever scam/telemarketer it might be.
I can set my GV number to forward to any and all the phones around wherever I'm at, and I can answer on whatever phone is convenient. I don't have my cell-phone with me at work, and when I'm expecting an important call it's nice to have it ring on both my cell and my work land-line phone.
It's also convenient to be able to send/receive text messages at my computer rather than the phones keyboard.
I like the GV "app" interface for texting better than my phones default app when I'm forced to use my mobile phone.
When I was traveling/working overseas it was very convenient to have my U.S. GV number.

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:06 pmI use GV mainly when I need to give a phone number to someone I don't want to hear from. Have also used a couple of times on Craigslist ads.

I go the opposite route, and give whatever my current direct mobile number is as my "burner phone" number. That's the number that's most likely to change if/when I change providers, and it's easy to tell if someone is calling that number I know it's a scam or unwelcome solicitation (I don't otherwise giver out or use the phone carriers number to people I have legitimate relationship with.) That does require me to use the GV app on my phone to place calls (which I prefer anyway for it's call logging and contacts list) otherwise they would see the native phone# (instead of the GV #) on their caller ID, which I want to avoid so they don't inadvertently return calls to that number.

uberdoc wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:35 pmI have been using google voice since 2008. Since then I have changed my personal contact number almost 15 times. I never had to update any contacts about the changes including banks etc. I even use WhatsApp using my google voice number.

I think this approach works if your financial institutions accept GV. I tried it with Citibank recently and suddenly 2FA disappeared from their options. It took me a while to get 2FA back even after reverting my number on file.

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:42 pmWe really need to get off texting for authentication.

Yes, we should turn off 2FA.

Joking aside, the real issue is certain institutions not sending 2FA to VOIP providers due to "security reasons." It isn't at all substantiated that SMS are less secure for VOIP providers.

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:46 pm

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:42 pmWe really need to get off texting for authentication.

Yes, we should turn off 2FA.

Joking aside, the real issue is certain institutions not sending 2FA to VOIP providers due to "security reasons." It isn't at all substantiated that SMS are less secure for VOIP providers.

My bank in Europe was using authenticator application in early 2000's. So was my company. No reason why financial institutions can't do this. They just don't have the will and Americans are hooked on convenience.

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:46 pm

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:42 pmWe really need to get off texting for authentication.

Yes, we should turn off 2FA.

Joking aside, the real issue is certain institutions not sending 2FA to VOIP providers due to "security reasons." It isn't at all substantiated that SMS are less secure for VOIP providers.

FWIW, the only justification I've seen that makes some sense to me regarding why some firms won't send SMS to some phone providers is they want to verify it's on a U.S. network to a U.S. endpoint, which VOIP and some other carriers can't do... But it's an impractical verification to begin with, because there are already services that will provide you a relayed "Real US Phone number" (i.e. https://americanphonenumber.com/ ) to outside the U.S.

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:52 pm

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:46 pm

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:42 pmWe really need to get off texting for authentication.

Yes, we should turn off 2FA.

Joking aside, the real issue is certain institutions not sending 2FA to VOIP providers due to "security reasons." It isn't at all substantiated that SMS are less secure for VOIP providers.

My bank in Europe was using authenticator application in early 2000's. So was my company. No reason why financial institutions can't do this. They just don't have the will and Americans are hooked on convenience.

Might be the cost. I'm pretty sure financial institutions have to pay to integrate their services with Okta / Symantec VIP etc etc.

JoMoney wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:56 pm

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:46 pm

jebmke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:42 pmWe really need to get off texting for authentication.

Yes, we should turn off 2FA.

Joking aside, the real issue is certain institutions not sending 2FA to VOIP providers due to "security reasons." It isn't at all substantiated that SMS are less secure for VOIP providers.

FWIW, the only justification I've seen that makes some sense to me regarding why some firms won't send SMS to some phone providers is they want to verify it's on a U.S. network to a U.S. endpoint, which VOIP and some other carriers can't do... But it's an impractical verification to begin with, because there are already services that will provide you a relayed "Real US Phone number" (i.e. https://americanphonenumber.com/ ) to outside the U.S.

Right...and I don't know what they would achieve with this verification, either, since the numbers are all US phone numbers. Maybe they're trying to catch expats or something? But even then, how do they distinguish someone simply traveling abroad? I'm not sure.

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:19 amYeah I don't understand the GV fanbase to be honest. We know some 2FA issues exist for VOIP providers (which GV is). International usage is also questionable.

I guess the cost is cheap, but I just switched to Ting and my bill is around $15/mo, I can live with that.

When I lived abroad I used Google Voice all the time via Gmail to make free calls to North America. Soon after they added functionality to the Hangouts app for the iphone to be able to do the same. That meant I no longer needed to be on my computer, I could call for free from anywhere.

d0gerz wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:29 pm

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:19 amYeah I don't understand the GV fanbase to be honest. We know some 2FA issues exist for VOIP providers (which GV is). International usage is also questionable.

I guess the cost is cheap, but I just switched to Ting and my bill is around $15/mo, I can live with that.

When I lived abroad I used Google Voice all the time via Gmail to make free calls to North America. Soon after they added functionality to the Hangouts app for the iphone to be able to do the same. That meant I no longer needed to be on my computer, I could call for free from anywhere.

Cool. I didn't know that was possible. Is there any benefit of adding credit to the number?

how to make google voice never expire?

They took away my previous GV number for lack of usage.

Somewhere I read on the net that if you leave a few bucks in the account, it'll never go away. That's what I did. I put a few dollars in the account right after I obtained a new number. I did not port the number and I still only use it every blue moon. It's been a couple of years and I am still good - fingers crossed.

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:01 pmMight be the cost. I'm pretty sure financial institutions have to pay to integrate their services with Okta / Symantec VIP etc etc.

The 6-digit one time code supported by Google Authenticator, Authy, and many others, is an open standard and easy to implement as a software developer (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6238)

As a software dev that has implemented this many times, the real problem is non-technical users. Getting a text is bad enough, but expecting non-technical users to scan a QR code, open an app, and find a code (if they have multiple sites registered) to enter is too much.

I have no idea why Fidelity used Symantec's proprietary solution instead of the free RFC OTP standard. I assume there were numerous steak dinners involved in that decision.

Blue456 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 6:49 pm

d0gerz wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:29 pm

Marseille07 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:19 amYeah I don't understand the GV fanbase to be honest. We know some 2FA issues exist for VOIP providers (which GV is). International usage is also questionable.

I guess the cost is cheap, but I just switched to Ting and my bill is around $15/mo, I can live with that.

When I lived abroad I used Google Voice all the time via Gmail to make free calls to North America. Soon after they added functionality to the Hangouts app for the iphone to be able to do the same. That meant I no longer needed to be on my computer, I could call for free from anywhere.

Cool. I didn't know that was possible. Is there any benefit of adding credit to the number?

Since US<->US calls are free from Google Voice, the only need to add credit is for GV to non-U.S. international calls.
They gave me $1 of international calling credit for free when signing up. My balance is currently about $0.80 cents, the only time I used it was to make some test calls to my own foreign cell phone playing with it. In my case my non-US phone was a pre-paid plan so it made the most sense to use my non-US phone for the non-US contacts and my GV number for calling U.S. contacts (and for them to call me).

I, and my family, all have Google Voice and never use it for calling or texting. We have it associated with our cell phones for incoming calls/texts. Our Google accounts are actively used and we have several paid subscription. I don’t know if that revenue stream is the reason it’s never been cancelled.

I just started using my Google Voice number for my external email signature block. Might as well put the vendors on one number.